Firing of Fed Reserve chief ‘highly unlikely’, says Trump

President Donald Trump has said it is “highly unlikely” he will fire Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell “unless he has to leave for fraud”.

The statement came less than 24 hours after Mr Trump indicated in a private meeting that he is leaning in favour of dismissing the head of the US central bank.

Mr Trump confirmed that he discussed the “concept” of dismissing Mr Powell in a meeting with about a dozen Republicans, who had gathered at the White House on Tuesday to discuss crypto legislation in the House of Representatives.

“Almost every one of them said I should,” Mr Trump said on Wednesday during an Oval Office meeting.

US stocks were shaky after the news broke, as such a move could help Wall Street get the lower interest rates that it loves but would also risk a weakened Fed unable to make the unpopular moves needed to keep inflation under control.

Meanwhile, House Speaker Mike Johnson stopped short of calling for Mr Powell to be fired, saying he was not certain about the “executive authority” involved.

But he did say “new leadership would be helpful at the Fed”.

“I’ve been unhappy with the leadership there personally,” Mr Johnson told reporters on Wednesday.